Inkstand-stopper



(No Model.)

L. IH. THOMAS.

y INKSTANDSTOPPBL i No. 542,399. l PatentedJu-ly 9, 1895.

i .1. im d.

y mm ma?? W/TNESSES.

U FTE- STATES ATENT OFFICE.

LEvI H. THOMAs-OF;OHIOAGQTLLINOIS, AssieNoa To THE sAFETY BOTTLE 1 AND INK COMPANY, oF NEw JERSEY.

INKSTAND-STOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part Vof Letters Patent No. 542,399, dated July 9, 1895.

i Application filed october 8,1894. serial 110.525,204. foto'moaei.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, LEVI H. THOMAS, a citizen ofthe United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of 5 Illinois, have invented acertain new and useful Attachment for Ink-Bottles, Inkstands, dac., of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates tov certain new and useful improvements in attachments for ink- Io bottles, inkstands and other receptacles for containing liquids or semi-liquids.

The object o f my invention is to provide a simple device adapted to be inserted in the neck or mouth of abottle or other receptacle,

x5 which will effectually prevent any of the contents thereof being spilled by accident, which will protect the same from evaporation, and which will, at the same time, enable ready access to the contents of the bottle and allow zo the same to be withdrawn by proper means,

as hereinafter set forth.

With these and other ends in view the invention contemplates a stopper proper having a central aperture an annular recess or v groove arranged around said aperture, the

Outer wall of said recess or groove being continued'down into the body of the receptacle in the shape of a tube separate or integral with the stopperproper and having its lower 3o end normally closed, `but provided with a suitable valve or valves adapted to permit the insertion and withdrawal of a pen or other device.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is asectional view of an ordinary ink-bottle having my attachment applied thereto. Fig 2 is a similar view. Fig. 3 is a vdetail view. Fig.

4. is an enlarged plan View of the lower end of the device shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sec- 40 tional .view showing a metal stopper proper,

and Fig. 6 is another sectional view.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all of the figures, A designates the stopper proper, which has a central aperture A and an annular recess or groove B around said aperture. This stopper proper A is preferably made of hard rubber; but it may be constructed of glass, metal, soft rubber, or any 5o other material whatsoever which is or may be adapt-ed for the purpose. The wall of the aperture A is shown inclined; but this is not essential, the said aperture being provided to permit the insertion of a pen orabrush into the bottle. The size and particular arrangement of the recess or groove depend largely upon the character and size of the receptacle and its contents. It may be made of many different constructions and arrangements of parts, and I therefore -do not deem it neces- 6o sary to give a more specific description thereof, the changes in construction required in this feature, as in others, to adapt the device to different kinds of receptacles being obvious to those skilled in the art. f As hereinbefore stated, o`ne of the objects of my invention is to provide asimple device adapted to be inserted in the neck or mouth of a bottle or other receptacle, which will protect the contents of the same from evapora- 7o tion. In accomplishing this purpose the recess or groove hereinbefore mentioned serves no purpose and is notan essential part of my invention.

In the metal stopper proper (shown in Fig. 5) the recess or groove is deeper than in the stopper shown in the other figures; but this is simply a matter of convenience, as it will be found that a very shallow recess or groove will answer the purpose. 8o I The outer wall a is extended, in effect, down into the body of the bottle by means of a separate or an integral tube C, the said tube having a flexible lower endo provided with asuitable valve or valves c. In Fig. l I have S5 shown the tube made separate from the stopper and Vof some ,soft material, so that that portion of said tube between the bottle-neck and the stopper acts as a packing and assists in making a perfectly air-tight closure; but 9o. of course this packing is not essential, as in the construction shown in Fig. 2 atight joint is also effected. It is desirable that the lower end of said tube should be flexible, and therefore when the tube is made integral with the stopper, if the-latter is constructed of hard material, I prefer to attach, in some suitable manner, a flexible lower end to the tube, as shown` in Figs. 2 and 3.

The stopper pper-may project above the roo mouth of the bottle or be arrangedush therewith, as desired.

It will be observed that a bottle provided with my improved device is practically airtight, asrnall quantity of air being admitted, however, when a pen is dipped into the ink. As the lower end of the tube is flexible, it will properly close when the pen is withdrawn.

The tube C is substantially free of ink at all times; but by violent agitation the valve or valves c may be opened to allow a very little ink to flow into said tube; but any ink whatever that gets into said tube will not escape, because when the bottle is inverted such ink will be caught in the recess or groove B.

The device may be applied to inkstauds, ink-bottles, or other receptacles adapted to contain ink, mucilage, or other liquids or semi-liquids, the drawings, for the purpose of illustration, showing two very common forms of ink-bottles in connection with which the device may be used.

Vthen the device is applied to an inkbot tle, as illustrated, an inkstand of a desirable character is formed, as well as an ink-bottle having special advantages, particularly as it is always in condition for instant use.

I have shown the lower end of the tube C slitted to forni a valve or valves, this being a simple and eiective form of construction; but other forms of valves or openings may be en1- ployed. A convenient construction is illustrated in Fig. 6, in which the recess or groove is formed by the tube C and the inclined wall h of the aperture A.

I am aware that changes in the forin and proportion of parts and details ofconstruction of my invention may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages thereof, and I therefore reserve the right to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secu re by Letters Patent, is-

1. An attachment for ink bottles and the like, consisting of a stopper proper having a central aperture, a recess or groove opening downwardly and arranged around the said aperture, and a tube extending down from the outer wall of said recess or groove and having a fiexible lower end provided with a suitable valve or valves, substantially as described.

2. An attachment for ink bottles and the like, consisting of a stopper proper having a central aperture, a tube extending down from said stopper and having a flexible lower valved end, and a recess or groove intermediate of the stopper and said tube.

3. An attachment for bottles and other liquid or semi-liquid containing receptacles, consisting of a stopper proper having a central apertnre,an annular recess or groove around said aperture, and a flexible tube projecting down from the stopper proper and having its upper portion tightly clamped between the stopper proper and the neck of the bottle, and its lower end provided with suitable valves substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a liquid or semidiquid containing receptacle having a suitable neck, a stopper proper inserted in said neck and having a central aperture and an annular recess or groove around said aperture, and a tube extending down from the outer side of said stopper proper and having a valved, iiexible lower end.

5. An attachment for bottles and otherlquid or semi-liquid containing receptacles, con sisting of a stopper proper having a central aperture and a flexible tube projecting down Countersigned Correction vivn Letters Patent No. 542,399.

It is -hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 542,399, granted July 9, 1895,

upon the application of- Levi H. Thomas, of Chicago, Illinois, for an improvement in l Inkstancl-Stoppers, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correotion, viz: In Vline 84, page 2, the Word position should read portion; and that the seid Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the. ease in the Patent Office.

Signed, oountersigned, and sealed this 23d day of Ju1y,A. D. 1895..

' J N 0. M. REYNOLDS, Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

[SEAL] JOHN S. SEYMOUR,

Commissioner of Patents. 

